An unlikely situation
by Z6don of the 327th
Summary: Naru is hiding something from all of them, what could it be? An event that will change thier lives...for better or worse. Kei/Mut, rated M for drug use and violence. Character death.Back in action
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

'Finally, I get to kiss Naru.' Keitaro's head was in a flurry. All possible scenarios flashed through his brain. Marriage, kids, no more space visits, life was looking pretty damn good, until their lips met.

"Ugh!" Keitaro broke away, disgusted.

"What are my lips not as perfect as Mutsumi's?" Naru projected at him, her blood beginning to boil throughout her body, she prepared to destroy him.

"You're teeth, they're rotten!" Keitaro's explanation flew out; he thought it might save him.

Naru's eyes widened with fear. 'Oh no, what if they find out?!' She began to run away to her room but Keitaro managed to grab hold of her wrist.

"Let go you pervert!" Naru yelled, raising an arm to punch him. In this act her sweater raised itself, bunching around her elbow.

"Naru I'm sor-"Keitaro began his apology, but neither of them heard it. Keitaro's eyes wandered to her exposed arm and gasped. Her arm was covered with scabs, some were bleeding freely, as if they were recently scratched, others looked infected.

"I-is this why you've been wearing sweaters all this time?" Keitaro asked. It was an innocent question, and anyone who knew Keitaro would know that all he wanted to do was help, but not Naru.

Naru ignored his question completely. "Shut up you pervert!" With that she darted out of the room to return to her abode.

Keitaro stared after her, sorrow piercing him deeper as he started to realized what was happening, and that he had no control over it. 'No, she's just got some skin disease or something, yeah she'll see a doctor soon.' Keitaro's thoughts soon swelled with false hopes and dreams, easily shattered with even the most controversial evidence.

The deserted dorm burst to life with the rest of the girls returning from their various schools (with the exception of Kitsune who, of course, had been out drinking.)

"Keitaro!!" Su screeched, delivering her most lethal kick straight to Keitaro's face.

After picking himself up and stopping up his nosebleed he addressed the girls.

"You guys, I think that there's something wrong with Naru." Keitaro began shifting nervously, as if Naru might smite him at any moment.

After saying this the girls left, completely oblivious to Keitaro's concern, Naru had always been an oddball. Kitsune was simply too wasted to say anything intelligent, much less even care. This left Shinobu, the only one who respected the ronin, and that was because she liked him.

"Sempai, what should we do?" She asked him, her eyes beginning to water.

"I'll call Mutsumi to see if she can help, in the meantime I think we should lay low and let her work off some steam." Keitaro spoke softly, lest he face the apocalypse early.

Shinobu nodded, she turned and began to make her way to the kitchen.

As she left Keitaro sighed 'Naru, whats happened to you?'

He trudged up to his room, every second of thought made his hopes seem more pitiful, more useless. Still he held onto them, they were all he had left despite what he had seen.

When he reach his room he looked at the ceiling. The hole up above had always filled him with happiness, it was a symbol of trust, and to him, her acceptance of his love. The hole was sealed, any notion of the past they shared was now severed completely.

For the first time, he felt anger. He began to quiver with a mixture of rage, pain, and self- pity. 'Naru, I will find out what you are.' He silently swore to himself.

He slept restlessly that night, his fears finally been given a face. When he woke his body was covered with cold sweat. 'What time is it?' Keitaro reached for his glasses, the alarm read 2 a.m.

"Tink."

The noise startled him, usually everybody was sound asleep at this time. He listened for even the slightest sound

"Tink."

"Naru?" He voiced his concern. Stealthily, making sure he made absolutely no noise, he made his way to Naru's room. As he edged closer the smell of ammonia grew stronger until it became almost unbearable right outside her door.

'What are you doing Naru?' Keitaro thought, event this thought was quiet, it barely registered to his brain. He slid the door open just a crack, what he examined blew his mind.

Her room, once littered with books and clothes, was now a replicate of a chemistry laboratory. Tubes were everywhere, glass flasks and other equipment filled with an unknown lquid bubbled softly the stench of ammonia was rampant.

Keitaro squeaked with amazement and fear. That one noise alerted Naru, who was in the process of ingesting her creation.

"Is that you Keitaro?" She asked, her voice sounded caring, sincere. "Please come here, I wish to talk with you."

Keitaro's heart stopped at the mention of his name. He opened the door the rest of the way and slowly toddled inside.

"Close the door." As Keitaro obeyed she continued. "I am sorry you had to find out like this, I meant to confess to everyone yet… I couldn't." She sighed and a single tear ran down her cheek. "I love you Keitaro, I really do, but my mind is torn in two, between you and this plague, I'm sorry." Her voice began to grow with an inexplicable anger as the drug took hold; her eyes began to gain a frenzied look.

"Naru you don't have to do this, please, I love you too, we can work this out, we can get you help, anything please!" Keitaro pleaded with her.

"There is no hope for me, don't you see this?" She growled at him, she began to scratch her arm with ferocity; the previous scabs began to bleed freely giving her a look of insanity. "Now Urashima, you will die!"She screeched at him. Naru was in a complete drug frenzy, she leaped forth with death in her eyes. In doing so her foot knocked over one of the many burners, the resulting explosion engulfed the room in flame.

Keitaro screamed with fear at the top of his lungs, he burst out of Naru's room, narrowly escaping a grisly death. Naru, however, was not so lucky; her screams bore the sound of suffering, and pain that had consumed her life. In the end she died how she had treated the man who loved her, violently.

Keitaro made his way outside, helping the others along the way. Outside he heard the sirens making their way to Hinata sou. Once he was convinced all was out of his hands he collapsed, the fumes of the smoke and ammonia sickened him and he faded out of consciousness.

Authors note, ha, a classic end to a chapter lol, hope i didnt overdo it. next chapter will be coming within a few weeks.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

_I have never claimed nor will I ever claim Love Hina as my own, this series belongs to a certain Ken Akamatsu, a genius in his own right._

"Naru?" He could not focus his vision, "Where are my glasses?" his hand blindly groped around for his second pair of eyes. What he found instead was soft, and jiggly. The face above him flushed pink, at that moment Keitaro realized his mistake.

But before he could begin his apology a finger was placed upon his lips.

"It's ok Kei-kun, it was a mistake, I understand." Mutsumi's melodious voice soothed Keitaro. She bent down and gave him a small hug.

Keitaro was shocked; he had never received affection from a girl without contracting severe physical punishment, it was rather nice.

"Where's Naru?" Keitaro looked about, he was in a hospital, and it seemed that Mutsumi was the only one who bothered with him. "I want to talk with her." He began to get out of his bed.

Mutsumi firmly, but gently forced him back down, "Just calm down, your body is still suffering from a chemical imbalance from all the ammonia you inhaled.

"Yes, but where's Naru?" Keitaro pleaded.

Mutsumi's eyes began to water "Naru-chan she…didn't make it out in time." She bowed her head. "I'm sorry Keitaro."

He stared off with blank eyes, seeing everything, observing nothing. He could have prevented it; it had to have been his fault. He was responsible for not just her, but all the tenants, and he failed. Only this time it wasn't some lousy test to get into Tokyo University, and the girl he loved was gone, forever. 'But wait!' his mind cried out, it resented this downward spiral.

'Exactly why do we love her so much?' The small voice inquired.

'Because, because she's…I don't know.' Keitaro was flabbergasted at his own audacity.

'Exactly you spineless worm, had she even like you, you wouldn't have been smacked around every day, she even blatantly denied it in front of everyone more than once.'

'You know, for a conscience you're kind of an asshole, but you're right, I am free from the shackles of discrimination, no longer will I grovel at the fe-'

'Motoko is still here.' His conscience interrupted.

'I can live with one psycho.'

"Keitaro, hey, are you all right?" Once again, Mutsumi's voice brought him back from his shell, but something was wrong.

Keitaro gazed at her, she was crying, streams of tears ran down her face, marring her beauty. He touched her cheek, "Mutsumi…I don't know what I would do if you weren't here."

She flushed and smiled at him, "Thank you Kei-kun, I must really be going, it's after visiting hours." She bent down and gave him another hug, as she began to leave she stopped at the doorway. "Oh, I talked with the nurse, she said you were to be released tomorrow, goodbye Keitaro." She then left him to his thoughts.

Sleep did not come to Keitaro this night. He sat up, and reviewed every interaction he ever had with Naru, an amazing percentage of them involved him getting hurt in some way. Even so, he grieved for her, his eyes were bloodshot from crying so much. A battle began to brew within his brain. The recent revelation split his mind in two: one that spawned a hatred for Naru with a ferocity that would startle even the great discriminator himself (Hitler) and one that loved Naru to the point of being comparable to that of Romeo and Juliet(luckily it didn't end up the same way).

A detailed dialogue of this confrontation would take many hours to tell. As morning began its daily appearance Keitaro's conscience won out. While not hating Naru he would not devote the rest of his life to her memory.

After being released from the hospital Keitaro made his way to Hinata-sou. Upon arrival he detoured to the teahouse to speak with Haruka, who had been acting as manager in his place.

"Aunt Haruka!" Keitaro burst through the door, slightly eager to hear any news at all.

"Whap!" Haruka's fan answered for her, as it did on many occasions.

"Ouch, oh, right, uh Haruka what's been going on around here lately?"

Haruka lit up a cigarette and sighed, "It's been very depressing around here, Shinobu hasn't come out of her room since she learned about Naru, in fact nobody has said anything, and even Mutsumi isn't her usual self."

'Mutsumi-chan, where is she?" Keitaro was concerned; Mutsumi was an unmovable rock of optimism, if even her resolve was shaken what of the others?

"I haven't seen her all day either; she may be upstairs, in her room." Haruka led him to her door. "If anyone can help her, it's you."

He slid the door open and walked inside, making sure he closed it again. He had never been inside Mutsumi's room; predictably it was filled with watermelon paraphernalia. Underneath the covers of the bed was a lump, Keitaro whispered "Mutsumi, is that you?"

The lump rustled slightly, as if to avoid the question, "Yes" came a muffled reply.

Keitaro pulled the covers off his fellow student. She was curled in the fetal position. A spot on her mattress was damp with tears; she hadn't bothered to change her clothes.

"Mutsumi, are you okay?" Keitaro asked, obviously she was not okay but something of this caliber was, quite simply, out of his league.

Mutsumi opened her eyes to the voice she had loved for so long yet to her was impossible to obtain. "Kei-kun, you came." She sat up to get a better look at him. "How are you feeling?"

"I-I'm fine Mutsumi-chan." He shifted nervously from one side to another. "L-listen…Mutsumi, I'm…I'm sorry, if I would have known…it's my fault things came to thi-."

Mutsumi sprang from her bed. She gathered Keitaro's face in her hands, they locked eyes.

"Keitaro, don't you ever say that." Her eyes flickered between anger and depression, neither of which accented her true beauty, one which no one had sought. "You're not responsible for everything that goes on here, despite what Motoko and Naru have led you to believe.

"Mutsumi…" Keitaro reached up and felt her hands, they were soft and slender, and those soft brown eyes were filled with concern and…love. Her face was inches away from his own, he let his hands fall and slip around her waist. Mutsumi gasped, her face turning a rich vermillion. He pulled her body to his, and for the first time, Mutsumi Otohime did not have to force her affections upon another.

As their lips met Keitaro felt pangs of guilt, his feelings for Mutsumi weren't exactly clear, and with everything that had happened he wasn't sure if this wasn't the right thing to do, a major source of the conflict in his head was why she had tried so hard for things to work between Naru and himself, he loved them both yet…

Unfortunately oxygen is a vital component of life, which, in their current position was impossible to obtain. As he broke away Mutsumi encased him in a rib-crushing embrace.

"Keitaro…" She sighed into his shoulder.

Keitaro swallowed, this only made it harder for what he originally intended. "Mutsumi, I'm sorry, this isn't what I came up here for, I just wanted to talk about…you know…Naru."

Mutsumi lifted her head to gaze into Keitaro's stoic face. "She's gone Keitaro, there's nothing any of us could have done to stop it…please…just let it go, you're hurting yourself." She turned away from him, bitter tears began their renewal.

"Then tell me this" Keitaro gripped her shoulder "Did you know?"

Tracks of pure, untainted sadness made their way down Mutsumi's cheeks. "No, I didn't, you know I would have told you."

"You're right…I'm sorry I doubted you Mu-chan." He whispered as he turned her around. He gave her a quick peck on her cheek before leaving her room.

After Keitaro left depression renewed its assault upon Mutsumi. She cried herself hoarse, all the while one thought ran through her mind 'Oh Kami, what have I done?

_Authors Note: _

_Sorry for being so late for the update guys, I was out of state for the holidays, and the army has kept me quite busy but I'm back in action until June 6 until the following fall, expect the next chapter within a week lol, Z6don out!_


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

_Just in case some of you are totally oblivious: I do not own Love Hina that honor belongs to Ken Akamatsu. Thank you dear reader for taking the time to read my stories._

Supernatural, an event, person or place that defies the laws of nature, this simple definition describes in entirety the ability of the young Keitaro Urashima. It is rather fortunate that this "power" belongs to him. As he made his way outward from the teahouse Su delivered yet another of her bone-crushing kicks, directly to the facial area.

**Somewhere deep within Hinata City: 1500 **

"Hey you, get your lazy-ass up."

Keitaro slowly opened his eyes to a grizzly-faced old man glaring down at him.

"Goddamn Japs, always layin' around when they think no ones lookin, reminds me of '43 with the ol' squad now get up ya rat bastid!

At this Keitaro pulled himself up, all the while being poked and prodded and occasionally hit with a stick that the old man held in his gnarled hand.

'Who is this guy, and why is he speaking English?' As this thought floated around he made the connection. 'Oh, he must be American!'

Keitaro sized up the old man, decided he wasn't a threat and fired his question: "Who are you?"

At a speed equivalent to Haruka's fan the stick made contact with Keitaro's skull with a painful crack.

"Who am I?" The little old man leapt into a fury, verbally crucifying Keitaro for his disrespect. "You little sumbitch, you need to learn your place before crashing down in here from above and demanding WHO I am, Fuggin A"

Keitaro was reeling; he had never heard such words come forth from anyone, much less a little old man. He could just add this to his list of humilities, right up there at the top next to getting beaten up by girls half his age, if they ever heard of this…he shuddered at the thought.

"Oh crap, that's right, the girls!" Keitaro began his long march back to the dorm; he glanced back at the old man. "Goodbye."

The old man's death stare continued to pierce his very soul.

'What a strange person.' As Keitaro made his way around the corner he heard a shout, undoubtedly from the old geezer.

"It's Tacho you little punk, and if I don't see you here tomorrow you'll have a whole different set of problems to worry about other than wimin!"

Keitaro smiled, it was the first time he had done so in a long while.

Keitaro, though physically alone, could not get away from the past few days. As he walked up the stairs the guilt weighed just a little more with each step. His thoughts about the last couple days finally caught up with him again. When he reached the dorm he noticed something was amiss. It was unnaturally quiet, so much so that it ran chills up his spine, he cast off his emotions, whatever was ahead warranted absolute calmness and respect, this much he had learned from this place.

When he entered the building he noticed two things, first was that all the remaining tenants with the exception of Shinobu sat in the living room intently watching him. The second was the not a single peep issued from them, not even Su.

"What's going on you guys?" It was yet another pointless question; it seemed those were beginning to be his specialty.

Su perked up, as if remembering something. "Motoko hasn't been out for a long time, not since Naru."

"Well, why hasn't anyone checked on her?" Keitaro asked this question tentatively, lest he provoke them.

At this ejaculation of verbal content Kitsune spoke out "We've knocked on her door, and called her name, and just about everything else except knock it down, so we waited for you since you're the only one with the master key."

"Yes but that hasn't stopped you from bursting my door in the past!" Keitaro retorted.

Before things could escalate to a violent level Su stepped in to resolve the conflict which wasn't all that surprising since Motoko was her handler.

"I think we should really check on Motoko you guys." It was a tone rarely, if ever, used by Su.

Kitsune sighed, she wanted to battle wits with Keitaro, and it would let her blow off some steam. "OK Su, but I'll get you later Keitaro." Her tone didn't suggest any mention of pain, nor embarrassment.

Shaking off the Kitsune's threat (which he didn't think was much of one anyway, not when compared to…her) he and the others made their way to Motoko's room.

The tension in the air grew until it became insufferable; Keitaro unlocked the door and slid it open. The room was completely bare except for a single 5X5 white cloth tile, upon which lay Motoko, in a pool of scarlet.

_Author's note:_

_The next installment of this series is pending and awaiting ideas and plot twists lol, I would be grateful for any advice, or ideas you might have I will have an open mind to any insight, unless it is completely ludicrous. If you have experienced the awesomeness that is Negima (Which anyone who is familiar with Akamatsu I would guess so) I will be posting another story titled __**The mysterious thoughts of melancholy and happiness within the mind of Negi Springfield. A compilation.**__ Enjoy my fellows. Z6don out._


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

_In the event that you do not know by the fourth installment of my written exploits that Ken Akamatsu gracefully constructed the entire Love Hina universe, not me, the only thing that belongs to me is the little old man._

Red light flashes in and out of Keitaro's vision. Perhaps he was in a state of shock. Perhaps he simply did not want to be there, that maybe, it never truly happened, and like so many other books and movies he would wake up from this terrible, terrible, and unlikely situation. If only for one moment he couldn't worry anymore. It was the day after everything else in his life went to hell in a hand basket. After the paramedics left and the police decided no foul play was involved, Motoko's body was sent to Kyoto, and once the formalities had been exchanged between her sister's family and Keitaro, he was left to sit on the steps and muse his fate. Keitaro felt a nudge upon his shoulder.

"Keitaro, hey, you there?" It was Kitsune, she too, looked put out, tired of life even."There was a letter for you in Motoko's personal effects, do you want it?"

Ordinarily Keitaro liked receiving mail other than bills, but this letter, it no doubt withheld Motoko's last testament to his pervertedness, however, he did not wish to disrespect any of his tenants.

"Thank you Kitsune, I'll take it" Keitaro reached out to take the letter, once it was in his hand he continued to open it, Kitsune though, had other ideas. She wrapped her arms around the young man from behind.

Keitaro looked up at the ashen haired girl who was most likely trying to weasel her way out of another month's rent. What she said next skewed Keitaro's vision of her entirely.

"Keitaro, I know that you think that every time I do this I'm trying to manipulate you into something rash, or stupid, and usually your right." Kitsune turned Keitaro around so that he was looking right at her," But right now I stand as Mitsune Konno, journalist extraordinaire and your friend, you understand?"

Keitaro nodded his understanding, talking simply took too much effort nowadays.

"If you ever, ever need any help, you know where to find me all you have to do is ask, OK Keitaro?" Kitsune released her embrace and walked back into the dorm, but not before giving Keitaro a lecherous wink…all natural Kitsune, even in the throes of depression she could met out some serious flirtation.

'Well…_that _was interesting.' Keitaro looked at the letter 'I suppose I should read this though.'

_Dear Keitaro,_

_If you are reading this then you know of what has occurred. Naru was my mentor in all things educational, however, my reasons for doing this are my own. I would like to at least share this with you. I will not lie, when I first met you I could not stand to even think about you. Naru was my ally, and then, things happened. In retrospect I suppose I fell in love. Of course my honor would never allow such a blasphemous thing, and so I punished you all the more. I am ashamed that it took the death of one of our own for me to reflect on how I treated you, and for this I apologize and I blame myself. Please do not worry about me; I do not deserve your thoughts or wishes, which is why I decided to commit seppuku in order to restore my honor. Keitaro, please take care of the others, I know Naru would want the same._

_, Love Motoko_

It was a simple heart wrought letter that only Motoko would write, well, except the love part. 'Motoko loved me…?' Keitaro simply couldn't wrap his head around it, it was an anomaly of epic proportions, three girls loved _him_, Keitaro Urashima. Pervert mastermind, and human target practice. The fact that 2 of the girls were dead put him in an extremely depressed mood. Speaking of death…"Oh shit, the old man!" Keitaro yelled aloud.

**Backstreets of Hinata City: 1930**

"Hmm, I guess the little sumbitch isn't gonna show after all, knew I shouldnta trusted that rotten Jap." The little old man turned into an alleyway to his home; after all, he had just been stood up.

"TACHO…HEY…TACHOOO!!!" Keitaro bounded down the street after the geezer.

Tacho looked up "Ah, I see you did make it, I've been waiting."

"Well I've been quite busy today…one of my tena…friends died yesterday…" Keitaro's face flickered with shadow for a moment.

"Oh…I see…losing friends is always hard on the young…" Tacho's face softened a little, "I have outlived all of my friends…some when I was younger, others just by old age, I am one of the last from an era quickly becoming myth."

Keitaro perked up a little at the last bit, "Exactly what era was that?"

Tacho's face regained its wizened look "Weren't you paying attention yesterday?"

"Err, not exactly…"

"Well sumbitch, see, this is what is wrong with kids these days, not just the Japs either, all of'em, nobody listens to the old stories that thrilled my kid and my grandkids and even my grandnephew, but not anyone else is interested in an old man's tales in his final years."

Keitaro could sympathize with the old man, after all, none of the girls paid any attention to him, much less listen.

"Hey look, I know how you feel, but not everybody is the same." Keitaro explained, hoping to clear up any misunderstandings, it had the exact opposite effect.

Tacho gave him a once over and let loose. "You're young and stupid, it's hardwired into every young man in this world, this age period causes you to lose your head and you won't find it until you're my age if you're lucky." He looked Keitaro straight in the eye, "Enough beating around the bush, I know all about the fire and your friends "honorable" suicide, all I've got to tell you is this, don't you ever, ever give up."

Tacho placed his hand upon Keitaro's shoulder "Trust me, I've seen more than enough broken men in my time, what happened to those girls is nobody's fault but their own…once you give up only you can help yourself…I believe you've seen the results of those without the willpower to carry on.

Keitaro looked up at Tacho, "Thanks Tacho, you're not so bad for an old guy after all." Keitaro smiled at him.

"Well, you whippersnapper, I believe you have a young lady to attend to."

Keitaro straightened up, his face gaining a confused look, "Wait, what are you talking about?"

"If I'm not mistaken a certain Miss Otohime has told me all about you, Keitaro Urashima." Tacho huffed and leaned against the wall, "If your thinking of abandoning that little girl you've got another thing comin' ya hear?"

Keitaro backed away, frightened of receiving a beating (not to mention the humility of such an event). "You're her grandfather…but…you're American!"

"I didn't say by blood you ritard." The old man grumbled at him, "I've known her since she arrived in this godforsaken city, and half that time she's been crying to me about your sorry ass."

Tacho walked up to a fear paralyzed Keitaro and poked his chest with his walking stick, "If you think you're going to take away that girls innocence and break her heart I swear to god with Jesus as my witness I will whip your ass until your six feet under, you got that?"

"Y-yes sir." Keitaro stammered out, nervous as all hell.

"Don't call me sir, I worked for a living." Tacho took a step back and breathed in deeply. "Now after saying all this I don't want you thinking I'm a hard ass 24/7, here's some advice : go out there and take her somewhere nice to eat, treat her well, she deserves more than what this damnable world has given her. Just talk to her, that's all she needs…a companion, ok?'

"Oh, uh, y-yes si-…what do I call you?"

"Just call me sergeant."

"Y-yes sergeant Tacho."

"Leave out the Tacho part, makes me sound old."

"Ok sergeant."

"Then get the hell outta here ya little punk."

"O-ok."

With those last parting words Keitaro headed back up the alleyway, with more or less a renewed view on life and its workings, while the thoughts of Naru and Motoko still weighed heavily on his mind he did not allow them to control him any longer. There was only one major problem to deal with, Shinobu.

'If I remember correctly, she hasn't been out of her room since the night after Naru…and with the situation with Motoko this may end up a pretty tough scenario.' Keitaro's thoughts on the matter brought him to the front entrance of the dorm.

It was a beautiful early summer day, one which had everyone out of the house; this made it all the harder for Keitaro, without support Shinobu might not come out for hours.

Keitaro made his way up to Shinobu's room to convince her to come out after isolating herself for such a long while, along the way Keitaro began to think. 'Damn these girls and their strangeness…you'd think now that Shinobu hasn't come out for days they would be worried, I suppose not…how could she have stayed so long in there, she's had to at least use the bathroom……Ah Christ!'

"SHINOBU!!!" Keitaro began yelling and screaming, all the while running at a dead sprint, crashing into walls and busting his glasses before making it to Shinobu's room where it took him all of three minutes to attempt to open the door until he simply threw himself through it. As soon as Keitaro pulled himself up he looked around, expecting yet another grisly scene as the others before, what he found was the complete opposite of what his brain had invented.

Shinobu's head jerked up and she nearly fell out of her chair, she had clearly just missed a heart attack, "S-sempai, what are you doing!?"

"Shinobu…you're all right." Keitaro took a gasp of air, he was really wheezing, it seems all that running from the pervert Gestapo didn't do any good, "I was so worried…*gasp* thought you decided to…*gasp* off yourself…*gasp* like Motoko…." Keitaro wheezed for more air and as soon as he could he gripped her into an airtight embrace.

She wasn't completely uncomfortable though, this was the closest she'd been to her beloved sempai since her date with him all that time ago…she was in heaven…if heaven came without oxygen that is.

"Sempai, I can't breathe."

Keitaro let go, blushing all the while, "O-oh I'm sorry Shinobu…I just thought…"

"I-its ok sempai."

Keitaro backed up a couple steps and gave her a once over, "How did you manage to get food without us knowing?

"Shinobu avoided Keitaro's gaze, "Well, it wasn't exactly an amazing feat, people don't notice much when their depressed, and no one noticed me, as usual."

"I'm sorry Shinobu…I didn't mean to ignore you, it's just that with everything going on I haven't gotten anything straight for days, I can't sleep, can't eat, it's all one big dream to me, none of anything seems real."Keitaro sat down on the floor.

"I don't mind sempai, I think everybody needs to be alone right now to sort out things, it always seems to work for me."Shinobu resumed her perch on her chair.

Keitaro stood up and walked to the door, "You know, I think you just might be right Shinobu, but I have other business to take care of, I'm glad you're ok, if you need anything just talk to me ok?"

"I will sempai…"Shinobu averted her eyes upon her diary. "Thank you…"

Keitaro exited the young girls with a small smile on his face, for once within this debilitating and exasperating few days something good happened. And while it was a small victory it made him appreciate what he did have left, the dorm, Shinobu, Kitsune, Su, Haruka…and Mutsumi.

'Mutsumi…what should I do with you?'

_Authors note: HOOAH!! Hello fellow literary soldiers, I'm guessing that if you've read this far into my story you have enjoyed it. Thank you for reading this, come June 6__th__ I will be at Oklahoma for BCT (Basic Combat Training) and I will be on hiatus until this coming fall. With that said I will try to post at least a couple chapters before I leave. I will, however, be able contact the masses in the months of August and September. If you would like to contact me please send an E-mail to . and I will try to get back to you as soon as humanly possible, and again, thank you._

_Oh, and a major thanks to major mike Powell the 3rd, for his commentary and inspiration through his own stories. Thanks buddy. Z6don out._


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

_**1943, Eastern German occupied France, November 28**__**th**_

"Send to the American general a request for his immediate surrender, promise them every amenity available while they remain our prisoners."

"Yes _Herr Fuehrer."_

_**2 hours later…**_

"What is their reply?"

"The paper says NUTS, _Herr Fuehrer."_

"WHAT!" The German colonel snatched the paper away from the messenger's hands "What does _NUTS mean?!?!"_

The colonel turned away, his face a brilliant scarlet."I will not be made a fool of, send out our elite divisions and a support squad of panzers, these damn American dogs will feel the full force of _Herr Hitler's _fury."

* * *

_**5 hours later, small French village, American 42**__**nd**__** division**_

'Goddamnit, of course I volunteer to see some action and I'm stuck here filling sand bags in a blown to fuck French village.' A younger Tacho wiped the sweat from his eyes, 'exactly what is so important about this damn mountain pass, it's just gonna freeze over in a couple of days, what the hell is Patton thinking anyways?'

He scanned over the small village, it seemed as there would be no hope of winning if even the feeblest of counterattacks struck here, and considering the Germans had to have the pass within the next few days…it was going to be a blood bath. With roughly only 350 combat able soldiers and half the number of villagers that could fight…they were really fucked you could say.

"Aw shit, I wish those flyboys hadn'ta blown that rail yard last week…."Tacho spoke dismally through clenched jaws as he realized the importance of the pass.

"No kidding, rotten bastards." A voice spoke to his left.

Tacho stood up "Well, if it isn't Charlie, what the hell are you doin in my neck of the woods?"

"Just thought I'd drop by for a visit, oh and the boys want to know if you want to play some high stakes poker tonight."

"Hell…high stakes poker huh…so we're playin for money, not C Rats, right?" Tacho tried to keep the desperation out of his voice as he asked the question. Just about everyone around here was broke, gambling was the only way to make a decent amount of money if your paycheck wasn't sent home.

"Yup you got that damn straight…last time I won grapefruit juice I couldn't shit right for a week."

"OK, I'll be there…what time?"

Charlie had begun to walk away in a casual manner as if the world was just peachy, "noon, don't be late…we've got beer this time."

The magic words had been spoken; beer was worth its weight in gold inside the little village, whether it was warm or ice cold.

The morning dragged on, and Tacho thought of "The boys" they were really just his squad…but they were together, through thick and thin, and he wouldn't have it any other way. Soon enough his shift ended and he made his way to the pup tent were the game was already started. Five men squatted around a tiny table over loaded with dollar bills and coins.

"Heyyy look who made it over here, just in time!!" A rather fat soldier bellowed into his face, "Here have a beer, on the house."

Tacho squatted in between the fat soldier and Charlie, "Thanks Joey, them sandbags are a goddamn back breaker, thought I'd never be done."

"That's ok Tacho we've all had a hard day's work."

"Not you Joey, all you do is cook shitty food and keep the rest of the goodies for yourself you fat fuck."

Joey looked hurt at the other man's comment, "Hey don't talk like that in this house, you guys know I save only the best for my bestest buddies, just ask Mr. Private Tacho Alverez over there, remember the chocolate I gave you?"

"Yea, it was 3 months expired you dirty son of a bitch."Tacho told him straight to his face, of course, it was all in fun, it was a way to get rid of the day's tension.

"Well how was I supposed to know that there's n-"

Nobody got to hear Joey's explanation, at that point in time the general alarm had gone off and its squealing whine droned over all sounds.

'What the fuck is goin on?' Tacho stumbled out of the tent with the others and started running to the main assembly tent.

"Nazis! The Nazis are coming! Grab your weapons men!!" A distant lieutenant was heard faintly over the din of the alarm.

'Nazis…then that means…fuck!' Tacho rushed to his tent for his rifle, wasting no time for his gear he grabbed his M1 and a few stripper clips and was off.

All around him the sounds of war emerged, already the mixed screams of English, German, and French had begun their cries, begging for mercy, for death, for anything. The sound was repulsive, Tacho learned something about war that day, it was neither glorious nor exciting. The brutal fighting was committed with anything at hand, firearms, grenades, crowbars, knives; Tacho even saw a broken broom stick wielded in battle. It was here he killed his first man; he shot him right in the gut, a messy wound to begin with. The young German's eyes were as big as platters; he touched his wound and pulled his hand away covered in bright red, he fell over, screaming and writhing in agony.

Tacho stepped over the young man without a second thought; he was doing what he was trained to do: Kill. Everything was in slow motion as he fought with his comrades; he took numerous lives that brilliant November day, using anything and everything at his disposal. He did it with a mechanical fury, this was what he was born for, a smile crept upon his lips.

The battle raged on for 3 days, the panzers came and went, being little match for the G.I.'s in such horrible weather, it only took two men and a couple of grenades to incapacitate the mighty German tanks. In the middle of the 3rd day it snowed, the Americans had held out, and for all intents and purposes the Nazi war machine was dwindling down to nothingness.

He was 19 years old. He was a murderer. He was a traitor. He was a protector. He was a saint. He was a demon. He was soulless.

* * *

_**67 years later…16:09 old shack within the bowels of Hinata**_

"Well…shit…I'm the only one left now aren't I?" Tacho spoke to no one in particular. He toyed with the small pistol in his hand, continually switching the safety on and off.

He smiled grimly, 'Well, now look at me; I'm only repeating Keitaro's friends mistakes…I wonder how he'll feel.' He looked around at the little shack he called home; he didn't even have an address anymore. He picked up a scruffy looking photo album and flipped through it. Charlie, that fat bastard Joe, everybody, dead; he reached the end of the album. Here was a picture of him and Mutsumi, they were smiling, it was taken a little after she arrived in Hinata…he touched the picture…he laughed a little…a couple of tears slid down his face. "What the hell am I thinking…nobody wants an old fogy like me around."

Tacho set the photo album down and cocked the pistol; he scavenged it off some Puerto Rican he killed when he was back in the States many years ago…people used to be terrified of him, now he terrified himself. He placed the pistol against his head; he caught one last glance at Mutsumi's photo…he pulled the trigger.

* * *

_**Hinata-sou- 4 hours earlier**_

Keitaro went through what he was going to say to her for the umpteenth time. Not completely satisfied but thought he was well enough off he forced himself down the steps to the small tea shop. Being a Saturday it was busy enough, he entered the door and searched for Haruka. Instead he ran into Mutsumi herself.

He scratched behind his neck nervously "Oh, umm, h-hello Mutsumi-chan."

Mutsumi turned a brilliant red in response "Hi Kei-kun, I'm off in about twenty minutes, could you wait that long for me?"

"O-of course, Mutsumi"

As it turned out Keitaro only had to wait 10 minutes for Haruka saw what was developing and let Mutsumi go early to talk with her nephew.

Mutsumi approached Keitaro coyly "What do you want Keitaro?"

Keitaro turned red before responding, "Um, well, I was hoping you would go on a walk with me in Hinata."

Mutsumi lightened up immediately "Oh yes, just let me get changed!"

Mutsumi hurried up the stairs to her wardrobe whilst leaving Keitaro to muse. Keitaro leaned against the counter, waiting for Mutsumi to reappear from her room. To pass the time he made small talk with Haruka.

_**Meanwhile, in Mutsumi's room…**_

'What should I do?' Mutsumi fretted about, worrying over Keitaro. Mutsumi walked up to the full length mirror attached to her door, she let her dress fall to the floor. After examining herself for a few minutes she dropped her head. "There's no way I can compete with her." She declared out loud.

She sat down on the edge of her bed gazing at the multiple posters advertising Hokkaido melons. 'Should I tell him what I know?' Mutsumi closed her eyes 'I wonder, should I….'

At that moment Keitaro opened the door "Mutsumi, are you ok, you've been in here for almost half an-"Keitaro stopped in his tracks, covered his eyes and cowered in fear while slowly backing out.

"No it's ok Keitaro; I'll be dressed in a minute."Mutsumi got up and closed the door for him; she returned to her mirror, 'No, I'll have to give it a shot.'

Keitaro slunk his way back down the stairs, his conditioned response now rendered useless against such a nice person. 'Amazing, nothing bad happened at all.'

Once again his conscience stepped in. 'Do you know how many suggestive positions you've been in with that girl, of course she didn't hit you, she loves you, you dolt.'

Keitaro stared off into space, completely and utterly speechless, 'Inconceivable, I-I mean, Shinobu I understand, and Motoko was a real shocker…but Mutsumi??'

'WHAT, you mean to tell me that kiss was strictly between friends, are you mentally dumb?!?'

'Well I mean, we aren't going out or anything…'

'Somebody help this man…seriously…did you not kiss her cheek before you left, these are all signs of something a tad bit more than a friendship!'

Keitaro regained his composure, lest somebody spotted him looking at nothing and at once drawing the conclusion he was a freak. 'I-I suppose your right…we're not exactly dating though…'

The conscience began to get impatient Keitaro's incompetence in all matters related to women…even it could see what could happen. 'Do I really have to spell it out for you… dear merciful Jesus, I do, all I'm saying is that if you ask her out there's a damn good chance she will say yes.'

Keitaro thought for a minute 'yeah sure but I don't think I want to have a girlfriend right now, with all the shitty things that have happened.'

The conscience put more emphasis in its "voice" 'Then that's your choice, I just hope you don't need everything spelled out for you'

It was at this moment Mutsumi stepped down the stairs clothed in simple white skirt and blue sweater emblazoned with the word Hokkaido across the front. "Hi Kei-kun are you ready to go?" Mutsumi was her usual cheery self once again; the pain from the last few days was gone, replaced by her optimistic demeanor.

Keitaro looked at his watch, it was 12:41. "Yep, let's go Mu-chan."

Once they boarded the tram it was rather crowded, forcing Keitaro to rub up against Mutsumi, sometimes in more "squishy" areas. Keitaro began to turn beet red mumbling sorry's all the way to the city. As soon as the tram stopped Keitaro leapt out once again expecting his world to collapse.

"Keitaro, I really don't mind, it was an accident, the tram was crowded, besides it was kind of fun in a way."Mutsumi tried calming a bewildered Keitaro down before he made a scene.

'Well I'll be damned, she is really nice after all, she isn't lying in wait like Naru…' Keitaro's thought of Naru depressed him; a shadow fell across his face.

Of course Mutsumi noticed right away something was wrong with her friend. "Kei-kun what's wrong?"

Keitaro perked up, "W-what, oh, nothing don't worry about it." He plastered on a fake smile he reserved for just such occasions…which happened very rarely, in fact, he hadn't put on one since the date with Shinobu when he told her she would get into Toudai. "Well we should get walking," He glanced at his watch, "It's almost one."

Mutsumi laughed out loud "It's a walk Keitaro; I don't think we have to hurry."

Keitaro chuckled slightly as he thought over what he had said "Heh, I suppose your right."

It was a perfect day for a stroll, it was the beginning of September, and while a few leaves had fallen most remained latched to their trees, bound like to their mother like a small child. While it was cool, the sun warmed enough for Mutsumi to take off her Sweater and tie it around her waist, revealing what appeared to be a very well formed "assets" underneath the tight fitting tank top she wore. It took all of Keitaro's will power to look her in the eye while they talked, and it pushed his body's endurance to the max to prevent a nosebleed.

As the couple walked they passed a great deal of shops and open air vendors selling their wares, it was after all, the end of the warm season and so had what they called _amazing_ discounts ranging from any were from 5 to an astonishing 15 percent off. Luckily Mutsumi didn't want anything; Keitaro was down to mostly pocket change after paying off the bills, he really needed more tenants. After passing through the market district they found themselves in a small but cozy pocket park.

"Hey Kei-kun could we stop for a moment, I need to tie my shoe." Mutsumi called out.

"Oh, ok." Keitaro stopped and patiently waited, he checked his watch, it was 3:27. He looked down at Mutsumi to tell her they should start heading back. "Mutsumi I think it's about time…"

"About time for what Kei-kun?" Mutsumi looked up at Keitaro to find him with both his hands covering his nose and a sizable amount of red bodily fluid on the ground. She looked at herself; she then realized her top granted almost complete visible access to her breasts. 'Thank Kami I remembered to wear a bra this time or he might be dead.' Mutsumi rose to her feet at once, feeling redness blossoming upon her face.

"I'm Sorry Keitaro; I'm such a klutz sometimes." Mutsumi watched the ground as she said it.

Keitaro finally managed his nosebleed by pinching his nose and leaning back. "It's ok Mutsumi; it's my fault for looking." His voice had an odd tone to it while his nose was pinched.

"No Kei-kun, it's my fault for wearing such a revealing shirt." Mutsumi explained carefully, making sure he didn't try to blame himself.

The apologization fight lasted for almost twenty minutes before they agreed it was a mutual accident, neither of them really minded what had happened however.

Mutsumi's eyes widened with a sudden realization, "Hey, we're near where Tacho lives, let's go visit him!"

Keitaro looked around the area a bit "Yea your right, do you know where he lives though?"

"Of course silly, he's practically my Grandpa…wait…how do you know about Tacho?"

Keitaro scratched behind his head nervously, "Do you remember the other day when Su kicked me into next week, well I kinda almost landed right on top of him…he seemed kind of grumpy and pissed off all the time but he's actually pretty cool."Keitaro cocked his head towards Mutsumi "When did you meet him, he really likes you."

"When I first arrived here in Hinata I got lost and headed in the opposite direction, as you can see, and he helped me out, ever since we've been pretty close, almost like a real grandfather."

Keitaro looked at her quizzically, "So he's not your grandpa?"

"Nope, let's get going shall we?"

"Ok."

Keitaro glanced at his watch before they departed for Tacho's abode, it was 3:58.

* * *

_**Ten minutes later**_

"Tacho lives here, in these slums?" Keitaro's voiced drifted throughout the small shacks set up within the seedier, darker side of Hinata; already he had been offered opium, Chinese heroin and numerous other illegal substances.

Mutsumi glanced back at him, "Unfortunately yes he does, he has no money, and no source of income since he doesn't have a job."

Keitaro sighed heavily; it broke his heart to see anyone live like this, especially the little old man who had grown on him these past few days.

"Ah it's right over here." Mutsumi pointed out a shack that was a good deal tidier than the others surrounding it. Keitaro was about to speak when a single solitary gunshot rang out, directly from the Tacho's home.

Mutsumi trembled in fear, "TACHO!!" she screamed, and ran into the metal wrought shed.

Keitaro ran after her, if only to make sure she was ok, but the circumstances told him a much different story. He burst through the door to find a grief stricken Mutsumi wailing her dismay, in front of her was Tacho…without the top of Tacho's cranium.

Keitaro stared, his mind enveloping the scene before him…there was no way…not again…Keitaro kneeled next to Mutsumi and embraced her, letting his tears flow the whole time. All the while the same thought made its appearance in their heads...

…why?

_AN: And so ends yet another chapter. I hope you don't mind the liberties I took in writing the WW2 scene, I obviously took the NUTS from battle of the bulge but was too lazy to really look anything up ha ha! The character of Tacho was based off a real man who also fought in WW2. That man's name was Tacho as well, in the end I suppose I wrote this chapter for him, to salute him for his service; I regret that he will never read this though… I will follow in his footsteps as an American warrior and I hand my gratitude to those who protected they who could not protect themselves, for the veterans of all America's conflicts, thank you. On a lighter note I hope the rest of you enjoyed this chapter, I am thinking of continuing on to a sequel involving the world of Mahou Sensei Negima, drop me a line telling what you think, or I might just do it any ways. I would like to give a thank you to the Major again, for his continued support, and to randompandattack for a small but crucial piece of advice, and thank you readers, for if it weren't for you I don't think I would continue on with Keitaro's…unique…adventure._

_Till next time…Z6don out, HOOAH!!_


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